DeAth's Revenge
by spobyaddict
Summary: "The five girls, now four sat silently at the table the next morning, Hermione noted, even though they never had before. Alison had always lead the conversation, apparently, as the four were now silent. Or maybe they didn't have any glue to hold them together anymore." AU. As Spencer and Hermione try to solve the mystery of Ali's death, others have other...things on their minds.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey all! This is the most EPIC crossover ever! I'm writing it with the beautiful and talented That Elusive Reader, so you'll enjoy it :) She'll be posting on her account too, so you can also find it there. Though there will be hints of the couples in this story (I wouldn't write it without them), it'll be mainly focused on the mystery-or mysteries... ooooh ;)- and such and such. However, being the hardcore fangirl I am, I'll do my best to include the couples in the plot. Enough rambling, on with the story!**

Honestly, ever since the beginning of the year, Hermione Granger hadn't thought about a single thing other than school. Professor Fitz was nice enough, though she had some doubts about him teaching Muggle Studies. And, honestly? That girl, Aria, just seemed too...absorbed in him for Hermione's liking.

But that wasn't her concern at the moment. No, it wasn't. It was the fact that Ron and Jason were chasing each other around the castle like hooligans. Just because Jason DiLaurentis was graduating this year didn't mean he could gallivant around like a unicorn in a palace- though that would be a hilarious thing to watch.

Hermione gripped her wand, heading towards the destruction. Honestly, were the two of them idiots?

"I DID NOT KILL HER!" yelled Jason, who was hiding behind a suit of armor.

"YEA?"

"WHY WOULD I KILL MY SISTER?" shouted Jason, ducking as Ron sent a spell towards the helmet of the armor.

Hermione had to hold herself back from clapping it was such...sucky aim...yea that's what she was saying.

"I dunno," muttered Ron. "It was Harry's idea to blame you..."

Hermione knew that was a lie. Ron hadn't talked to Harry in the last twenty-four hours and...twenty seven seconds, not that she had been counting. Harry was probably moping around in the attic somewhere, insisting that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. And Alison DiLaurentis had been killed twelve hours ago on the grounds.

There was no way this was Harry's idea.

It had to be someone else's. But whose?

X

The five girls, now four sat silently at the table the next morning, Hermione noted, even though they never had before. Alison had always lead the conversation apparently, as the four were now silent. Or maybe they didn't have any glue to hold them together anymore.

That could be possible.

Hermione forked her eggs into her mouth before shoving her Arithmancy book into her bag and pushing away from the table, not even bothering to say goodbye to Luna or Ginny or whoever else they had pulled beside them to tutor them.

Not that Luna or Ginny needed the practice of tutoring younger children. They probably actually liked them.

Hermione grabbed a piece of toast, relieved to get away from the most awkward situation in all of Hogwarts. Or at least she thought it was the most awkward situation of that morning.

"Wait, Hermione," a kid said, pulling on her bag and forcing her to sit next to him.

The first thing that Hermione registered that Harry and Ron were sitting at the table, even though she hadn't seen them come down. Fred was the one who had pulled her down to sit in-between him and his twin, George.

"What?" she demanded, not really wanting to put up with anything frivolous or stupid this fine...ahem...horrible morning.

"Dumbledore's going to make an announcement," Fred muttered. "You know, since that DiLaurentis girl died. I'm really sorry for her brother."Ron stiffened at this. "I heard he got beat up by some kid yesterday in the seventh floor hallway, because the kid thought he did it."

"Really, I wonder who," Hermione muttered, glaring at Ron, who seemed much more interested in his bacon than anything else. But then again, Hermione couldn't really blame him for being interested in bacon at that moment.

"ATTENTION!" shouted Dumbledore as loudly as he could. The student's murmurings fell silent. "As you might have heard from various sources, a student has left our midst. Alison DiLaurentis."

There was collective gasp of those (Hufflepuffs, honestly, do they even know how to communicate?) who hadn't heard the news yet.

"She was found last morning buried under the Whomping Willow-" The four boys Lily was sitting next to glanced at each other. "-We will hold a ceremony tomorrow morning. Classes are dismissed tomorrow. I wish to send our condolences to everyone in the DiLaurentis family. Thank you."

It was clear that Dumbledore was done speaking, as he had sat down and continued eating his...was that what Hermione that it was...bacon?

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of all frivolous thoughts.

Wait...why was George eating a cupcake at breakfast?

This was going to take a long time.

X

"You will be brewing a Draught of Peace today, and you will be able to redo it tomorrow if can't figure it out today. Anything else Professor?" asked Assistant Hastings later that morning.

Hermione glared at the board. This was boring. She had brewed this last year in her free time.

"No, I think you did perfectly Miss Hastings," Slughorn smiled jollily, bouncing over to Hermione's desk. "Miss Granger!" he cried. "Why aren't you working?" Melissa Hastings came over to where Hermione was sitting, always following Slughorn.

"I brewed this last year for fun," Hermione muttered, almost bored, but trying not to appear that way.

"Ah yes..I remember now." But his face didn't seem like he did. "Brew something out of the back of the book, surprise me," he smiled.

Hermione nodded, not really feeling like doing anything extravagant.

This was going to be quite the boring day, and everyone knew it.

(Except maybe Slughorn.)

* * *

Spencer honestly couldn't believe that Alison, one of her best friends, was dead. Sure, Alison was the biggest drama queen that Hogwarts had ever seen, and made half of the population's lives living hell, but she could make you feel special. Loved. Important. Magical.

A little over a month ago, Alison had left to visit her grandmother somewhere in Georgia in the United States. Though the majority of the Hogwarts student body found it odd that she hadn't made any sort of contact since she left, most people didn't seem to mind. Only Spencer and her other friends, Hanna, Emily, and Aria, had found it odd.

"Don't you remember her saying goodbye?" Aria asked between bites of her lunch. "It was like she was never going to see us again!"

"What are you saying?" Emily inquired, one of the few words she'd spoken since the news of Ali's body got around to her.

"You think that she KNEW she was going to die?" Spencer butted in, keeping true to her Veronica Mars reputation.

"Let's face the facts," Aria stated bluntly. "Alison was ALWAYS one step ahead of everyone. She knew everyone's secrets. Hell, she knew more about people than they knew about themselves!"

"As I always say, there's a downside to being too smart," Hanna chimed in, picking at her perfectly manicured nails, jumping when an owl dropped in front of Spencer.

"Way to go, Spence! Now my finger's bleeding!"

"Sorry for not being physic," Spencer retorted. "Sorry guys, but I have to run. Toby's been extremely worried about my mental health..."

"We get it," Emily giggled, "Go to your trusty knight in shining armor! In fact, I should probably go too... Oliver and Toby are on the same page with this one..."

"Well, Caleb can join their secret society. I've barely been able to do anything with him all I-will-protect-you! He is all over me!" Hanna piped up, never having come equipped with a filter.

"I don't need to know that!" Spencer exclaimed with a grimace before packing her bag and running off to meet Toby.

"You guys, I am dead serious about Ali knowing something was up! She knew that she was leaving for good." Aria whispered, knowing that people were paying even more attention to them now than before they were part of the queen bee's posse.

"Aria, can we not do this right now? I can't..." Emily sniffled, on the verge of tears.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Em. Go be with Oliver! Same for you Han. I'll be fine. I need to study for Muggle Studies, anyway!"

"Don't worry, Aria. You'll find the right guy when the time comes!" Hanna said cheerily before skipping off to her long-haired love.

"Always the optimist..." Emily smiled, patting Aria on the shoulder before walking away.

* * *

"Seriously, Toby, I'm fine. The initial pain was the worst, and it's over now. I hadn't talked to her for a month before they found her body. That made saying goodbye a lot easier than it would've been if I had partied with her the night she went missing, whenever that was."

"As much as I want to believe you, I don't think I can. I know you, Ms. Hastings, and you showing emotion happens as rarely as an eclipse," the blue-eyed boy smiled. "I love you, and I hate seeing you hurt. But I hate you not sharing your true feelings with me even more."

"I love you too, which is why you should believe me. Yes, it does hurt, but it will probably always hurt. The sooner I accept that, the better."

"I am all for you moving on and being happy, but never be afraid to confide in me," Toby said, plating an affectionate kiss to Spencer's temple.

"Never. As long as you'll have me for that long."

"Forever and always, Spence." Toby replied, leaning down to kiss her properly.

* * *

"Em, are you SURE you're okay? You've barely spoken in the past 24 hours."

"Oliver, I'm grieving! I'm sorry that doing whatever you call fun isn't at the top of my priority list right now!"

"Alright, you're right. I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"So, how are you coping?" Oliver asked, obviously having other intentions, but Emily jerked away from his attempt of putting his arm around her.

"I'm... Okay... I think..." She replied, holding in her tears. She had never felt comfortable breaking down in front of most guys, aside from Toby.

"Well then, let's do something! We haven't done anything remotely... You know... Since the whole Alison ordeal!"

"Are you always this insensitive?"

"Emily, listen-"

"You know what? Save it. I need a break. From life, from drama, and DEFINITELY from you!"

"Emily, wait!"

"Are you finished? Because I am." And with that, Emily stormed away in tears, leaving a sexually frustrated Oliver and many things left unsaid.

If only everyone could know how I really felt... Emily thought to herself. But that's all it was- an if only.

* * *

"Caleb, you don't understand! I need retail therapy!"

"You expect me to let you go shopping in Hogsmeade after something like this? I mean, I always knew you were crazy, but really?"

"Shut up!" Hanna giggled into his chest, playfully smacking him.

"Han, I'm dead serious. I love you, and if you... If you get hurt..."

"Caleb. Don't go there. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"

"I'm not crossing any bridge when you're DEAD, Han! I'll be jumping off it!" Only then, when Hanna's piercing blue eyes met his own, did she see that he was crying.

"Hey... Hey... Come here... There's nothing to worry about, Caleb! I have so many people that have my back, nothing will happen, okay? Trust me."

"Alison had people protecting her, too." Caleb gently reminded her.

"Please, were you that fond of her? I know for a fact that you and Toby could've easily formed an "I Hate Alison" club! She had more people out to get her than out to protect her."

"Toby and I weren't fond of the hours we spent consoling you and Spencer over something she did to you. Oliver never minded her though... In fact, he seemed to like her, and like her a lot. Anyway, I may not have had the most pleasant feelings about her, but you loved her. I would've defended her."

"And that's why I love you."


	2. Suspect 1

**A/N: Here's chapter two! I'm sorry it took so long to post, but we were both without internet for periods of time and not much got done. However, Chapter 3 is well underway and should be up within a few days. As always, I love you guys! Enjoy!**

Hermione normally didn't pay attention to the gossip, but normally gossip didn't invade her only space left for sanity, the library. But this gossip wasn't something that could be avoided.

"Did you hear? Emily Fields broke up with Oliver Wood..." a girl 'whispered' a row of bookshelves behind her. She almost felt like tearing out the books from the shelf and shoving them down the offending girls' throats, but she withheld herself from doing so.

"Of course I have!" said another girl, not even trying to cover her voice in a fake whisper. "I think it's because Oliver didn't comfort her enough," the second girl whispered, or at least in a voice that she thought was a whisper.

Hermione swore under her breath as she picked up her books, honestly not caring if a stray first year heard her.

Honestly, why did the first years even need the library? She had, but that was because Harry and Ron were poking their noses in things that didn't need to be messed with in any way shape or form.

She stormed out of the library, irritated that she was being kicked out of her one last sanctuary at the moment. She tromped up the stairs, not caring that she was making too much noise.

Hermione grumbled as she turned the corner, running into a small first year girl who was carrying something stupid, probably in her arms. The girl dropped them in surprise and Hermione didn't even stop to help her pick them up. The girl needed a better grip of them anyway.

Hermione flicked her wand and stamped across the abandoned classroom she had opened and sat down next to the window overlooking the black lake.

There was nothing that anyone could do, she thought to herself, to make her happier at that moment.

"Granger!" the voice struck across the room with a severity that Hermione hadn't heard in a month. Her head shot up, expecting to see a tall blonde wearing Slytherin robes, but instead found a boy.

"What do you want Malfoy?" demanded Hermione, standing up and clenching her fists tightly.

"What the heck are you doing here?" he retorted, looking like he had just run a short distance.

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. There was something off about him. Harry couldn't be right about him being a Death Eater though, that was just plain ignorant. "I must make the same inquire."

"Are you drunk?" he smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" she shouted indignantly, marching past the insolent boy and storming out of the room, not really wanting to deal with his stupid muggle bashing at that particular moment. "Why don't you just go shove your Pureblood status down some poor girls' throat!" she yelled as she turned the corner away from the boy.

But she, for a second, thought about his socks for some reason. And the enormous amount of red dirt that covered them.

The type of red dirt only found around the Whomping Willow. Six feet underneath the ground.

The same place where Alison DiLaurentis had been buried.

* * *

"Hermione?"

"Hmmm?" she muttered, turning away from the window she had been staring out of. "What? Do you need me to correct more of your papers?" she asked, turning her body fully towards the student that she was currently tutoring in the library.

"No..." the small third year mumbled. "You were just staring at the Whomping Willow again."

"Er...yea. Well. What were we working on?"

"I'm having troubles in Divination," the poor girl answered.

Hermione held back a snort. The stupid subject Divination. "Sorry, but Lavender or Parvati would be better help in that topic," she answered, straightening a lock of her curly hair absentmindedly. "I dropped the subject when I was in your year."

"Umm...yea," the girl muttered, shuffling her books and pulling out the Defense Against the Dark Arts book for third years.

Hermione stared at the book, which had a picture of a blond boy leaning against a spade for some reason.

Her mouth dropped open as she realized what the picture reminded her of.

"Hermione?" the girl asked again, her voice slightly worried. She focused her eyes on the girl again.

"Sorry, um...I can I see that book for a second?" she asked, putting her hand out. The girl pushed the book her way before pulling out a small notebook that Hermione had previously made for her as a Christmas gift last year.

Hermione glanced guiltily at the girl before staring at the cover.

That's when she realized who it reminded her of.

And she really needed to tell someone.

Not Aria, she was probably still hanging around Professor Fitz. Not Hanna because she was probably cuddling around with Caleb. Not Emily because she seemed really unstable.

So Spencer it was.

"Miss Hermione?" asked the girl again. "Er...can I go now? You seem a little distracted to be teaching at the moment..." she trailed off, looking around the library for some sort of distraction.

Hermione turned back to the girl again, the book still firmly in her hands. "Huh? Sorry Katherine, I'm just a little...off today. Ever since my friend Alison was..." she trailed off, trying to pull off the concerned and weepy friend.

"Wasn't she mean to you?" asked the girl.

Hermione fought for an answer in her mind, but couldn't come up with anything. "It's none of your business!" she cried, scaring off the small Ravenclaw girl quickly made her escape, probably glad to get out of this particular meeting.

And for the first time, Hermione was too. Normally, she thought as she packed up her own books, she'd have to push the kid to leave several hours after the appointment for tutoring.

"And that is why I only tutor Ravenclaws," she muttered, dashing out of the library.

If I were Spencer where would I hide? she thought to herself. The library? No. She was just there. Maybe...maybe the Room? Or one of the secret passageways? Or maybe on the balcony heading up to the Divination tower, someplace nobody ever wants to go.

Exactly where they used to hide out.

* * *

"Spencer?" Hermione called quietly, clutching her bag tightly. All she was expecting was Alison to jump out in her green robes shouting, 'What are you doing here you Muggleborn?' and push her down the stairs. But Alison was dead.

"Yes Hermione?" asked Spencer, standing up from the shadows where she had been presumably been studying.

"Er...well you know how Alison died?"

"I couldn't have missed the fact."

"Well, I've figured something out."

Hermione took a deep breath, trying to call up courage. "I think Colin Creevey killed Alison DiLaurentis."

* * *

"Wait, they're arresting him? With what proof?"

"Well, Aria, the paper says that he was covered in mud and had no alibi, and he had motives, too!" Spencer spat, just wanting the mess to be over.

"Motives like what?"

"Like the rumor Ali spread that he was a hermaphrodite. Remember that? People still call him awful names! Or when she tripped him while the staircases were moving so that he fell and broke his leg! She constantly tortured him! I think the only reason he even put up with us was because he has a massive crush on Hanna!"

"Guys, let's not be so quick to judge. I mean, Colin never lost his temper around Ali once. What could have made him snap?" Emily asked, never quick to judge or accuse anyone.

"Look, Em, Alison had been giving him nothing but hell ever since he started here our second year. He was bound to snap a string!" Spencer retorted, still sticking strong to her theory.

"Guys!" Hanna butted in, sensing the unfolding argument. "The police have evidence, but we know Colin- at least, a little. I mean, that kid studied for his OWLs the first day here! He's almost as bad as Spencer! He would know how to cover up a crime scene, and he wouldn't be this sloppy about it."

"First of all, I take offense at your little remark! And second of all, maybe you're right, but it doesn't mean that we should rule him out completely, does it? It could be his plan! To fool us into thinking that there was no way he did it due to the nature of the crime, while still actually having murdered Ali. You guys, Hermione saw him, looking guilty as all get out." Spencer stated, obviously tired of the situation. "Look, can we just do this later? I promised I'd meet Toby out by the lake for a picnic after my classes today, and I'm already half an hour late! With the amount of worrying he's been doing about me lately, he probably thinks I've been murdered too!" And with that, she was gone.

"Speaking of which, how are you holding up, Em?" Aria asked, obviously concerned.

"I'm fine, really. We'd been over for a while, I was just too scared to tell him."

"Scared? Why? Did he hurt you? Because I swear to god I will kill him!"

"No, Hanna, it's not like that... It's complicated."

"It always is here, isn't it?" Hanna responded with a smirk.

"Seems to be. But if I ever need anything, I'll let you know," Emily said with a genuine smile- the first in a while.

"Good. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool my best friend, you're dead freakin' meat!" Noticing Emily's expression, she quickly softened her tone. "Unless you just need me to be there for you. I can do that too." Laughing, Emily grabbed her things and went to Transfiguration.

"Bye, Han." Then, suddenly, Hanna felt a hand clamp over her mouth and another arm snake around her waist. Colin? she thought to herself, shrieking and trying to free herself from the mysterious person's grasp.

"Miss me?"

"CALEB RIVERS! NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

"Sorry, but I couldn't help myself... You just looked so beautiful!" He said, smirking as he put his hands up in mock innocence.

"Don't you DARE pull that crap on me right now! One of my best friends gets murdered and this is how you handle the situation?" Seeing the look on Caleb's face change, she realized that she had overstepped the line. "Caleb, don't worry, really. I'm fine!" Rubbing his arm soothingly and putting on the best fake smile she could, Hanna started to walk away, but was stopped when Caleb grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"Han... I didn't realize that you were still so shaken up. I was stupid to think you weren't, but you're always so brave..." he trailed off, not wanting her to see that he was on the verge of tears. Whoever put the girl he loved through this was going to have hell to pay, and he knew Toby agreed.

"It's just... I'm scared, you know? Alison was such a force to be reckoned with... The thought of her dying one day made you laugh hysterically! And now, here we are... Without her! Because she's dead! She was so much stronger than me, what if I'm next?" The stunning blonde hadn't even realized she was crying until Caleb reached out and wiped away her tears with the pads of his thumbs, also shedding silent tears.

"You can't think like that. You are a genuinely nice person, unlike Alison. She had messed with so many people by the time she went missing, everyone here had a decent motive. Don't think that she was killed for fun, because she wasn't. She was killed because someone had had enough of her. Nobody could ever get enough Hanna Marin, believe me!"

"I appreciate all of that, and you know that I feel nothing but safe when I'm around you, but I think that the worrying and paranoia is just going to be a part of me from now on."

"Well, you know that I love you no matter what, right?"

"Yeah, I kind of like you too!" Hanna teased, glad for the change in mood. Smiling and shaking his head in mock disapproval, Caleb wondered how the girl before him was all his.

"That's good enough for me."

* * *

"Spencer! Thank god! I was so worried but I know that you don't like how concerned I am so I just decided to wait here but then you weren't here and you are always on time for everything and I was about to head up to the castle when I saw you coming down here and-"

"TOBY!"

"Yes?" He asked meekly.

"Breathe." Taking in a deep breath, the blue-eyed boy pulled the mocha-eyed girl into him, nearly crushing her lungs.

"I'm sorry... I just... I just worry about you. After everything you've been through... I get scared. You're the strongest person in the world, and you've made me strong in turn, but I can't live without you."

"First of all, you are NEVER going to lose me. Forever and always, remember?" Spencer asked, pointing to the promise ring on her finger with those exact words engraved into them. "Second of all, I don't see how I could make you any stronger, seeing as you have the six pack," she joked, playfully hitting him in the stomach, which probably hurt her more than him, causing him to double over in laughter before regaining his composure.

"Seriously, Spence. You saved me from myself. Everyone here thought that I started the fire that blinded Jenna. Even you."

"I am anything but proud of that, Toby. I'm so sorry, I-"

"Don't bother, seriously. Everyone thought I was guilty."

"But I shouldn't have! Thank god that Emily had her head screwed on straight..."

"They would've figured out that it wasn't me, anyway. Besides, we were always destined to be together. We would've figured that out eventually," he said, smiling as he pressed an affectionate kiss to Spencer's forehead.

"Of course! But that doesn't change how sorry I am for not believing that you were innocent from day one."

"Don't beat yourself up, Spencer. They still don't know who started that fire! Half of this school still thinks it was me! I wouldn't blame you if you still thought I was behind it."

"In all honesty, I wouldn't blame you if you were behind it. After all she did to you..." she trailed off, shuddering.

"Let's not talk about that, okay?"

"Okay. What should we do instead?" Spencer asked, raising an eyebrow flirtatiously.

"Well, I've got an idea..." Toby smiled, covering her mouth with his.

"Best idea ever."

* * *

"Look, I'm not saying that we should go all out and kill this guy, but I'm saying that the girls think he's dangerous!"

"Caleb, Spencer never mentioned this once to me while we were out today. Wouldn't she if it was something to be worried about?"

"Of course not! Spencer is too smart for that!"

"Did you just call Hanna dumb?"

"Sort of. Maybe. Just... Ugh! That's beside the point! The point is, Spencer knows that all you've done recently is worry about her, and that makes her worry about you. And then she tells Han, and Hanna tells me. She won't tell you about it because she thinks you've done enough worrying for everybody in Hogwarts. The last thing she wants is you to get worked up over something that she isn't sure is true."

"I thought you said that Spencer was dead set on Colin killing Alison this morning! So she wasn't?"

"This morning, she was. But after dinner in the Great Hall, Hanna and I talked again and said that Spencer had changed her mind."

"Did she say why? When Spencer thinks something, you don't sway her."

"Actually, you do sway her. Apparently, you talked to her this afternoon about something and that turned her around-ish. Maybe not a full 180, but at least a solid 90, which is something to be proud of with Spencer, and you know it. Hanna quoted her as to saying 'I accused Toby so quickly, and he wasn't even guilty. He's the farthest thing from it. Maybe had I not passed judgement as fast as I did, I would've figured out sooner how incredible he is. I would give anything to go back and change what I thought. I'd give anything to have even one more moment with him, knowing that he was the love of my life.'"

Through the tears that were threatening to escape, Toby chuckled. "And you remembered all that?"

"Actually, no. She knows me too well. She made me write it down and told me to 'study and take a lesson from Spencer, who obviously knows more about romance than I do,' so I did, knowing that you'd like to hear it."

"As much as that means to me, I can't even focus on that right now. All I'm thinking about is how there's someone or something out there scaring our girls, and we can't do anything about it."

"You know how mad they would be if they knew we were having these little get togethers?"

"We'd end up just like Alison."


	3. The Boy Who Murdered

**A/N: I know, I know, it's been forever! But my parents split and That Elusive Reader went overseas for a month, so it was the right time to take a break. She's moving in a couple days, but we'll still be writing! :D Anyway, the story is BACK and should be up fairly regularly! Enjoy! **

**Chapter Three:  
The Boy Who Murdered**

Hermione wasn't thrilled to say the least. Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily had been a wreck since Alison died and it seemed as if everyone was just fawning over Alison DiLaurentis even more now that she was dead.

And then there was the whole thing with the murderer.

Now, Hermione loved a good murder mystery, but she prefered not to live in it. Or be any part of it, thank you very much. And honestly, it was killing her not to have all the answers.

"Hermione?" asked Ron, the day after the whole Colin thing had started.

"What homework do you need my help on now?" she demanded, slamming her books down next to Ron and Harry, who were seated on the couch next to the fire place in the common room.

"Actually, we were wondering if you had the Prophet?" asked Harry, putting down a book that he was reading. Believe me, Hermoine was just as surprised as any of you. Harry, reading a school book?

"Of course," she answered, pulling out her copy from her bag that was stuffed full of books as usual.

"I don't get it Hermione, why do you have Magical Mishaps and Merical Magic Murder?

"Because they're interesting!" she cried, as Harry took her paper. "Harry, why did you want the paper?"

"Because he wants to read the horoscopes, Hermione, why do you think!" Ron muttered under his breath. Hermione hit him over the head with Magical Mishaps which was at least five inches thick. He rubbed the back of his head, painfully, glaring at her.

"I'm not stupid Ronald!" she retorted. Harry, used to their bickering, opened to the fourth page.

"Guys, look at this!" he spread the paper out on his knees so his two best friends could read it too.

_Boy Who Murdered?_

_by Mary MacDonald_

_Colin Creevey, 15, was recently taken into the Ministry for questioning concerning the death of Alison DiLaurentis, 16, who died last month in a tragic accident. DiLaurentis was found buried six feet under the Whomping Willow, which was planted over thirty years ago on the school grounds. The boy's mother pleads that he is innocent, but precautions must be taken. Dumbledore will not comment on the matter and nor will any of DiLaurentis's family or friends. The evidence against Creevey is stacked up to the ceiling and it is said that Dumbledore himself, along with numerous Ministry employees are combing the evidence for other suspects. More are yet to be found._

_Sources report that Creevey was seen walking into the Gryffindor common room late on the night that Alison DiLaurentis was murdered covered in mud and rain, as it was raining that fateful night._

_"I was only trying to get Harry Potter's autograph!" claims Creevey. "He was on the pitch and I was running around below. Just ask him! I'm innocent!" Potter has yet to respond to the Ministry's questions._

_In the meantime, our hearts and minds stay with the mourning DiLaurentis family and their loss. Let us hope that the answers will soon be revealed._

"...Is it true?" asked Hermione, hoping secretly it wasn't.

"Yea, I was really annoyed so I flew into the woods near Alison's memorial and Colin followed me, I eventually had to fly into my room, just to get away from him. I dunno why he was so... possessed... to get my autograph. He hasn't been that way in years," Harry answered, biting the end of his quill.

"That's an awful habit, Harry," Hermione scolded, swatting away the quill, but really thinking about how horrid it all was. All because of her. She took a deep breath. "Harry, you've got to answer those letters!"

"I haven't got any!" he exclaimed, throwing down the quill. "I would if I could!"

"Merlin, calm down mate, okay? It's only Colin!"

"Yea, and I wouldn't want to send him to Azkaban for something that he didn't do!"

Hermione sighed. The two of them would be at it for hours.

* * *

"Harry, have you answered them yet?" Hermione asked the next day at breakfast, as she joined the boys at the table.

"No!? When would I have? Anyway, they haven't asked me," he answered.

"Harry! Are we talking about the same Ministry here? Send something in to Kingsley or Moody! Fudge and that lot are as corrupt as muenster cheese!"

"I believe you mean swiss cheese, Hermione," Ron put in, whilst stuffing his face with chicken. She wondered briefly at how he got chicken at breakfast but at least she wasn't cooking for the idiot. She glared at him before purposely dropping her bag that was full of at least ten books onto his plate. She could Scourgify the bag later.

"Harry, you've got to quickly! This isn't some sort of assignment that you can hand in ages late. Colin's life is on the line!"

"Don't be absurd Hermione," Ron muttered, trying to lift the bag off of his plate. "How do you even lift this thing?"

"You're a wizard aren't you? Use your wand, Ronald," she answered, crossing her arms. "Anyway, Harry, I'm not going to give up!"

"It's not like he's going to die is it?" asked Harry. "I mean, Ron has got a point hasn't he?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes before pulling out a copy of the Prophet from that day and throwing at the two boys. Ron, finally managing to push off the bag and joined Harry in looking at the paper.

"Creevey to be put in Azkaban before the end of the week?" asked Harry, not quite believing what he was reading.

"I told you, this isn't an assignment you can turn in late," Hermione muttered. Harry nodded dumbly.

* * *

Later that afternoon, when the three of them were in History of Magic, Harry slipped Hermione a note as she frantically tried to take notes from the dead teacher.

She glared at him before opening the note, on it read simply.

I sent in the letter to Kingsley.

She nodded to Harry to show she was proud before trying to go back to her writing.

But she couldn't.

If it wasn't Colin, who was it? It could have been half, no all of Hogwarts. Even Hermione could have done it, but...

She looked over at Emily and Hanna who were sitting in the middle of the third row, the two were ignoring the lesson and just talking in hushed voices. If Spencer were there, Hermione knew that she would have been acting like Hermione.

But she wasn't, so Binns just ignored the entire class and duly continued on his lesson.

Unknown to the fact that many of his students weren't thinking of Goblins or witch burnings, but death.

The death of Alison, the girl who never seemed to leave.

Hermione sighed and tried to scratch down what Binns was saying, but her mind was racing, trying to figure it out.

Again.

* * *

"I can't remember not knowing Alison. Not having her as a friend. She was the first person I knew long enough that I felt I could be angry with, without worrying that I was going to lose her. It made me feel like something was going to last, and you need that. Especially when you're a kid."

"Friends can be hard on you. Maybe, they expect more from you than strangers. Strangers pretty much see you the way you want them to see you, but you can't fool friends. That's what makes them friends."

"The memorial we're putting by the Forbidden Forest will be a safe place. You can go and sit, read a book, and just think. You should think about Alison while you're there. She'd want to make sure you didn't forget about her."

"When you do something like this-a memorial- it's partly because you don't understand what has happened. So you plant flowers and you paint tiles. And, somewhere in the middle of all that work, you stop crying. I guess that's the point."

"She would've liked that you were all here. She would've liked the attention. No, actually, she would've loved the attention. It would've made her laugh. And Alison laughing- that was amazing."

The girls were emotional from their speeches at Ali's memorial, to say the least. However, all feelings of grief instantly vanished as Jason helped Jenna up to the podium.

"We think we know who we are, but we don't. Not until something bad happens to us. And then, all the useless things just fall away, and we're left with who we really are. I learned that from Alison DiLaurentis. My whole life, I thought I knew who she was. But I found out the truth when she came and talked to me in the hospital. I found out that she was the strongest person that I had ever met. And it's her strength that's touched so many people. Shaped them. That's her real legacy. That's how her memory will endure. In the actions of those she inspired in so many different ways. From all of us- thank you, Alison."

And, as much as the girls thought that Jenna was out to sabotage the entire memorial, she had made a very touching-and truthful- point. Alison was the strongest person that anyone at that memorial had ever met. Her legacy would live on in every possible way, and the memorial would help to ensure that.

* * *

"CALEB! How could you?"

"I don't know, man! It just... felt right, you know?"

"No, Caleb, I don't! Kissing the girl you love should feel right. Eating an entire feast in the Great Hall feels right. But DESTROYING Alison's MEMORIAL? Really?"

"Look, Toby, I'm sorry. But I don't regret it."

"Why not? In what universe would doing anything like that be done without regret?"

"The one where Alison DiLaurentis tortured our girls into doing things that you know JUST as well as I do were horrible! The one where Hanna spent every minute focused on her imperfections that aren't even there! And Spencer went through JUST as much. You know that."

"I do know that. But I also know that the girls loved her. She made them feel accepted. Hanna was able to accept herself- even if it wasn't in the way that you'd prefer. Spencer found freedom from her family of Ministry snobs- and if you DARE tell her I said that I swear I'll kill you- because of her. And so yes, even though the girls went through horrible things and she made their lives a living hell, she made them happy. Isn't that all that matters?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"And you couldn't have had me talk some sense into you BEFORE you vandalized her memorial?"

"Nope."

"You can't get yourself out of this, you know that."

"Yep."

* * *

"What do you mean it's been destroyed?" Spencer asked, trying to remain calm under the situation.

"I mean that the memorial we slaved away over is gone! Someone hacked away at it last night and there's really nothing left," Hanna explained, also desperate to keep her emotions intact.

"How much is that?" Aria asked, concerned that the art tiles she had been so looking forward to were gone.

"Umm... Some shards of the fountain. A couple art tiles, maybe three. Nothing else, really," Emily added quietly, obviously on the verge of tears.

"Did you take a full inventory?" Spencer quipped amusedly while sipping on her coffee, putting it down when Emily looked down guiltily. "Em? Is there something you aren't telling us?"

"I went there last night... To say goodbye, or get closure, or something like that... I don't even know. When I got there, it had already been shattered. I took what was left." As she said this, the brunette pulled four little statues out of her bag, her tears falling freely now. "These are one of the last memories I have of her that aren't tainted with one thing or another. This is it..." she said, trailing off into her own sniffles.

"Oh, Em," said Aria, putting an arm around her comfortingly. "I know how much you loved her. We all do! We all loved her, but we can't keep these. The Ministry will start asking questions that we do NOT want to be answering."

"You don't understand!" Emily said harshly, wiping below her eyes to try and calm the waterworks..

"What don't we understand, Em? What happened?"

"It's... I... It's nothing. I'm just still... dealing, you know?" The girls nodded, obviously unbelieving.

"Sure, Em. But know that whenever you want to talk to us about... Dealing... You can. Okay?"

"I know," the brunette said, a genuine smile gracing her features for the first time in what felt like forever.

* * *

"Spencer?" The blue-eyed boy called out into the darkness.

"Toby! What are you doing here? How did you get into the-"

"Shh! That's not important right now!"

"Then what is?"

"I know who destroyed Alison's memorial."

**Also, to the lovely person who reminded me that this story is technically against ToS- First of all, thank you for reminding me. Second of all, I didn't forget. I knew that going into this story. However, there are stories everywhere you turn on this website that are against ToS, so please don't pick on mine. **

**This story was written by two people with VERY different followings, and we wanted to make the most of that so people could enjoy the story without having to spend 80 hours looking for it. We wanted equal credit and posting it on both accounts made the most sense. So please, don't target my story. If you're going to do this, you should be posting on every story that's against the ToS.**

**We didn't plagiarize anything. We didn't put this in the wrong category to make people angry. We didn't post a chapter that was one line as a joke. We don't put in random comments in the middle of chapters that distract you.**

**If you're going to harp on us, harp on everyone that has a chapter that is just an author's note. Harp on everyone that posts stories about real people. Harp on everyone else, not just me.**

**That Elusive Reader and I bust our asses to try and make these somewhat tolerable for you to read. PLEASE don't target our story because we want to get what we work for. **

**And THAT was my weekly rant! Tune in next week for... More Stupid Complaints! ;)**


	4. Drunken Tension

**A/N: Two updates in two days? Who loves you guys? ME AND THAT ELUSIVE READER DO! But seriously, you guys are amazing. :D Keep in mind that it's 1 AM and we've been writing since 10. And I spent my entire day with her. Jus' sayin.  
Personally, I'd like to dedicate the first portion of this chapter to ThatOneGinger, due to her unnatural love of drunk people (especially when they play Minecraft), and congratulate That Elusive Reader for getting me to ship Toby with someone other than Spencer. SPOBY FOREVER, PEOPLE! As always, enjoy! **

_**Chapter Four:**_  
_**Drunken Tension**_

The screams filled the stadium as the red and gold uniformed people flew circles around the golden hoops, their arms in the air and their faces triumphant. The red and gold students in the stands screamed, one of the beaters on the team, Fred Weasley, leaned over to an identical boy in a beater's uniform.

"George!" he yelled over the screams and booing of the green cloaked students that were now underneath them as they made another loop around the stadium. "Party in the common room! Tonight!"

"FIREWHISKEY!" shouted the other boy, his arms in the air, on his face was clear happiness and joy. Fred only laughed, veering away from his twin and fake diving towards the Gryffindor fans, who were cheering as loudly as they could.

* * *

Hermione stood in the corner, sipping her water, or what she thought was water at least, she had poured it from her wand after all, and staring at the scene before her. She wrinkled her nose at the couples that stood all around, clearly having had too much to drink already and it wasn't yet 10. She had a feeling not many of the girls' beds would be filled tonight.

"What are you thinking about?" asked a slithering voice in her ear and for a second she wondered how Draco Malfoy had gotten into the Gryffindor Tower.

She turned to see the red headed beater. She grinned lightly, turning away again to stare at the crowd. "I think Caleb's had too much to drink," she answered, her hand shaking her glass as Fred leaned casually on the wall next to her. "Along with the rest of the older years." She frowned for a moment. "How'd you make sure that none of the fourth years and below didn't drink Firewhiskey?"

"What are you talking about?" feigned Fred, his voice filled with faked innocence. "We only serve Butterbeer here!"

"Yes, and Butterbeer can get you that drunk?" she asked, pointing to the couple in the corner who looked like they were about to pull each other's clothes off, and the girl already had discarded far too much clothing.

"They should get a room," muttered Fred darkly, his eyes flashing.

"I think, personally, everyone in this place should get a room and stay there."

Fred turned towards her. "Fine, Caleb probably has had too much to drink, and so has Claudia, but they're going to be fine-"

"How much has Caleb had to drink?" Hermione questioned, her eyebrows raised. "Exactly? I know you kept count."

"I think ...ten?" he answered slowly, his hand finding the back of his neck, his eyes dashing around. "Or maybe fifteen, you know, I can't really count above five..."

* * *

There was only darkness and his hands found the wooden door of the dorm room, he only two things on his mind, the door and the object in front of him. And perhaps the clothing on himself and the object. The very brunette object. With very brown hair.

He gasped as she pushed him back onto the bed, her elbows digging into his arms for some reason before she returned to his face, her fingers flying everywhere.

He sighed, but something told him this was wrong.

That he shouldn't be doing this.

Screw it.

Screw everything.

* * *

"As I said, Caleb will be fine," Fred said, returning to Hermione, who was still standing in her corner. "Speaking of being fine, why are you still here?"

"I like a little risk in my life," she answered without batting an eye.

"Hoping for some action?" he asked, a thin red eyebrow raised. She narrowed her eyes, trying to pull an emotion out of his face.

"Maybe some action on a chessboard," she answered, turning away to watch the people again. Something was fascinating about the way they moved and interacted when they were drunk.

"Are you serious? You're at a party...with firewhiskey and you're talking about chess?" he asked, laughing to himself.

"I'm a bookworm. I tend to do things like that," she answered indignantly, crossing her arms over her gray sweater, hoping to Merlin that her glass wouldn't spill.

"Theres nothing wrong with that. Some guys like that kind of thing?" He said it like a question, the syllables not quite coming out right.

"Do you like that sort of thing?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly, her warm eyes reflecting the fire's light and the glow of the fairy lights that hung above the people's heads.

Fred looked down at her carefully, as if he didn't quite trust one of the two of them, himself or her, she didn't know. He opened his mouth, his eyes lost, and wandering around the room.

* * *

His hands were smoothing through her long brown hair, his mouth never leaving her skin. She took was moving quickly, like a viper that could kill with a single squeeze. She slid her hands down his sides, then up again, to his collar, where the buttons had become loose. Her hands didn't shake, her mouth never ceasing to move across skin.

Wasn't this heaven?

Shouldn't she be lighter? More angelic?

Screw it.

* * *

"Toby!" shouted a male voice, sending the tall brown haired boy's head flying up from his shoes, which were quite interesting, really if you thought about it. "I've been looking for you."

It was Oliver, the Keeper, according to the girls, and the Stealer, according to the boys.

"What is it?" he asked, not quite interested, he'd never really liked the boy who slept in the corner near Ron in the dorm. Except now he was dating Emily and they hung around the girls who hung around each other. Far too much Oliver involved, thought Toby.

"I was wondering if you'd want to go on a double date, you know, with Emily and Spencer?" he asked, leaning against the wall next to Toby.

"Yea, sure," he answered, not really paying attention. Personally he thought that Oliver was too full of himself. He blocked out what Oliver was saying, as it was probably on plans and stuff. Spencer could tell him all that later.

"...and I've been sleeping with Spencer..." he said, Toby snapping back to the conversation.

"What the hell mate!" he cried, his voice gritting into his teeth.

"I haven't okay, it's just that you were nodding when I said that Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley would make a good couple," he said.

"Yea, sure," Toby muttered, swearing not to trust the Irish boy now.

"What do you think Granger and Weasley are doing over there in that corner?" asked Oliver, pointing to the corner.

"Which Weasley?" asked Toby, laughing to himself, looking over the swarming bodies towards the corner where the brunette and a tall thin red head where standing.

"Fred I think. Or maybe it's George. I dunno," Oliver muttered to himself, glancing darkly around the room.

Oliver seemed to glared around the room for a minute before he glanced at his drink. "I'm tired," he muttered. putting down the drink on one of the various tables lying around the room. "I'm going up."

"I think I might join you," Toby muttered, looking back at the room, faintly wishing that Spencer had been there.

"Feel free," Oliver muttered.

"I didn't mean it like that," Toby smiled, his eyes lighting up in the dim lighting. Oliver found

himself looking deep into the blue eyes.

Far too deep.

He could lose himself in those eyes.

* * *

The only thing he could hear was the gasping of the girl as she felt his hands touching her quickly and with expertize that she hadn't know he had had.

"I love yoush," he slurred, his breath smelling heavily of firewhiskey, his hands roaming freeling across her body.

"Just do it already," she hissed, her voice soft and husky.

He looked down at her, his brown eyes softening in their drunkenness. "Suresh."

* * *

Oliver looked back at Toby, he noticed the way his hair swept across his face and the way it swept over his eyes as he walked up the steps heavily. He shook his head, facing forward again.

No, he thought, You're dating Emily. He's dating Spencer. You like women. Hot, luscious, scrawny, brunette men...I mean women.

He swore loudly to himself inside his brain, feeling like he wanted to rip his hair out. He pushed the door open angrily, activating the lights, his eyes not leaving the floor before he heard a soft moan coming from one of the beds.

His bed to be exact.

That had some very fine legs on it.

Four legs in-fact.

Four very bare legs.

* * *

"Fred?" asked Hermione, her soft voice shaking slightly as she looked up at the redhead. He looked down at her, swallowing quickly, his eyes looking at her, then at the table that held most of the drinking bottles.

"Bathroom," he muttered, quickly slipping away from her and into the crowd, making his way straight for the table and intending to down several before he saw those brown eyes again that night.  
She watched him make his way over to the table, her eyes following him carefully.

"Do you want to dance?" asked a voice beside her. She didn't have to look at him to know it was Ron. She looked at him before looking back at Fred, who was drinking one from one of the bottles and watching the two of them carefully.

Her gaze lingered on the elder Weasley, before returning to Ron's eyes.

She shook her head, taking a sip of the water and nearly sloshing it down her front as Ron pulled it back down. His cheeks were red and his hair disheveled.

"I dumped Lavender," he said.

"Why are you telling me?" she asked, her gaze slipping back to Fred, who had seemingly forgotten about his drink, his knuckles white from clinging to it so hard, his face grim and intense.

Ron took a deep breath, his arms coming out of nowhere and pulling her face towards his.

Something pulled at the back of her mind. Something pulled at her to stop, while Fred was still watching.

But Ron...

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL?" shouted Oliver, his hands shaking on the door. Toby looked over his shoulder to see the sight. He felt Toby put a hand on his shoulder and for a moment, Oliver felt dizzy, but then Toby was sprinting across the room, pulling a brunette off of the bed, the girl taking the sheet that had covered some of the horror story on the bed.

HIS BED, he'd like to add.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" he shouted, storming over to the couple on his bed, finally recognizing the boy as Caleb.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Toby of the girl, his voice barely controlled. "What are you doing to Caleb?"

The girl glared at Toby, her mouth a thin line. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my room, and that's my bed, I might add," he glared at her. Oliver noticed the tiny lie though. "A better question would be how you got in."

"I followed Emily," she answered, her voice never cracking or sounding slightly ruffled.

"She would've noticed," he growled. Oliver looked more carefully at the girl and recognized her as Jenna, Toby's stepsister.

"You'd be surprised at what people don't notice," she hissed back, clutching the sheet to her body, her face ever so slightly flushed.

"What were you doing? Forcing Caleb into...this!" he trailed off, gesturing wildly towards the bed and her very obvious lack of clothing under the sheet.

"I didn't force anyone into anything!" she exclaimed. Toby scowled, his face contorted in rage.

"YEA RIGHT!" he shouted, his face turning red.

Oliver, his mind racing quickly decided to step in. "Okay, JENNA, get your stupid clothes on and get the HELL out of here. You already ruined Toby's bed, and my innocence," he began.

"I didn't ruin it completely. Anyway he's probably done as much with Spencer," she bit back, Toby flushing even redder. "And I sincerely doubt you were innocent before today."

* * *

Hermione pushed Ron away as gently as she could, but already she could see that Fred was gone, his drink lying sideways on the ground where he had stood, spilling its contents on the rug.

"Ron, I don't like you like that," she said slowly, his eyes frowning as they looked at her. "And I'm pretty sure you don't either." She took a deep breath, her eyes going back to the boy in front of her.

His face was strangely calm. "It's Fred isn't it?" he asked, his voice quiet. "Fred..."

She swallowed, her eyes going back to where Fred had been standing.

"I'm sorry," she said, quickly pulling away from him and running up the boy's dormitory stairs, her hair swishing behind her as she ran.

* * *

"What was she doing here?" demanded Toby, turning around to glare at Caleb. "What were you doing? What about Hanna?"

"Sheesh...who is... Hannnnny?" the dazed Caleb asked. "I just was with... Hanna!"

"No, you were with Jenna. Major difference, considering Hanna's a Hufflepuff and Jenna's a Slytherin!" Toby exclaimed, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Mate, just let him rest," Oliver put in, putting a hand on Toby's arm, sparks springing up his arm. Oliver quickly let go, careful not to look Toby in the eye. "We can talk to him in the morning."

Caleb was already asleep, his partially undressed arse still lying on Oliver's bed.

Oliver swore hasly under his breath, mostly at his new fascination and at Caleb.

"I see that conversation will be very colorful," muttered Toby, making his way over to his own bed, leaving Oliver to sleeping Caleb's.

Another colorful word graced his lips as he slid under the covers.

* * *

Hermione climbed the steps, her heart beating wildly. The darkness was complete until another shape came pounding down the stairs, it's hair ruffled and and robes scrunched up.

"Where are you headed Granger?" the shape demanded, revealing itself as Jenna Marshall. "Going to force yourself on some poor boy? Or is he paying you?"

Hermione flushed, her skin turning red. "No..." she stuttered.

"Is he blind?" Jenna paused. "You can't have a boyfriend...do you?"

Hermione flushed.

"I feel sorry for him. He has to put up with all that..." she gestured towards Hermione, who again flushed red before she turned on her heel and ran down the dorm stairs, her eyes brimming with newly formed tears.

"That's right Mudblood, run!"

What Hermione didn't hear though, was Fred's distinct voice saying," Who are you calling a Mudblood? And why is her name Hermione?"

* * *

"CALEB?"

"Spencer, calm down!"

"Calm down? Calm down?! My best friend's memory was destroyed by the guy Hanna loves, and you want me to calm down?" Almost hysterical at this point, the Ravenclaw who typically took so much pride in her cleanliness had random objects strewn about. She was pacing much like a mad scientist on the verge of a breakthrough, pulling at her hair so fiercely that Toby was afraid it would fall out. Her meticulously-done makeup was playing copycat with the tears running down her face.

Grabbing her hand and pulling her down beside him, Toby started rubbing up and down her arm soothingly. "Hey, hey! It'll be alright. I talked to him, he knows what he did was wrong, and-"

"That doesn't take back what he did!" Spencer declared rather harshly, pulling her arm away from his.

"No, it doesn't. But what could? Spencer, I know what he did was awful. But all he was thinking about was Hanna, and all that she went through because of Ali."

"What did Hanna go through? She is happy with herself! Something that none of us could accomplish no matter how hard we tried!"

"That's true." Toby said, obviously just trying to figure out how to defuse the bomb before it blew.

"So what's the problem then?"

"Well, you have to admit, she could've lost weight in a healthier way."

"What is THAT supposed to mean? Was she supposed to eat 3,500 calories a day and sit around? She dieted. She exercised. What else was she supposed to do, starve herself?"

"Spence-"

"NO. You don't get to judge my best friend for trying to accept herself!"

"Do you even know HOW she lost all that weight? Because I'm starting to think you don't!"

Now, losing his temper was something he tried to never do, ESPECIALLY in front of Spencer. She was raised by Ministry lawyers, and he simply knew better.

"Don't try and make me look like the stupid one! You know NOTHING about her!" And with that, Spencer was gone.

* * *

"Stop." Hearing Caleb's voice, the girls stopped discussing and went over to see who he was talking to. "Listen to me! Look at it this way, we BOTH made a mistake." Eyeing Emily, Aria starting walking over to where Caleb was standing. "No! I can't do it tonight." Both girls desperate to make out the other end of the conversation, they moved a little closer. "I know what I said, but it's different now!"

Aria and Emily both pressed against the only barrier between him and the surrounding area- a small pillar- they continued to try and put the pieces together. "First of all, I don't think she is who you say she is!"

Hanna? Was he talking about Hanna?

"Don't call her that!" Briefly glancing at Emily, both girls had no doubt that this- whatever it was- was about Hanna. "I can't do it tonight."

What is IT? And why is it so important?

"Because I say so! Because I'm spending most of my time with her, and you can't keep owling me! It's gotta stop!" Both too shocked to do anything, the girls stood there dumbfounded as Caleb's conversation came to an end.

"Okay, fine. Later. LATER."

* * *

"You've got it wrong."

"We heard what we heard, Hanna." Aria said sympathetically.

"No! You heard what you heard but you got it wrong!"

"He was talking to another girl, and there was a lot of history- you could tell." Emily said, providing her input for the first time all morning.

"What happened to being all happy for Hanna? Where'd all that go?"

"Hanna we want you to be happy-" But Spencer was cut off before she could finish.

"Then don't tell me this! Because it's not true! Not after we..." Trailing off, she finally continued. "You just heard wrong. He could've been flooing with his foster parents or something or his social worker! You don't know!"

"Okay! Maybe we didn't hear it right." Aria stated, trying to calm the waters.

"Hanna! We heard what Caleb said, and you have to know the truth! I think he's with someone else and hasn't told you," Emily said as soothingly as possible under the circumstances.

"No! Caleb has told me everything, and I told him everything. I told him all about me, and what you're saying it's... Not him. It can't be."

* * *

The girls had agreed to let Hanna talk to Caleb alone and figure things out for herself. The problem wasn't that Hanna wouldn't talk to him, but the other way around.

"Caleb's not there." Aria said dully to Emily and Spencer as Hanna's fourth floo went unanswered- again. "She's going to send him an owl."

"If Caleb hurts Hanna, he's a dead man." Emily said, the words spilling out before she realized how tender the situation still was. "NOT literally, I mean... Ugh! What the hell is going on?" Emily asked, obviously both confused and furious at herself and their current predicament. Answering her question as well as anyone could, Spencer put an end to their conversation.

"Either it's exactly what it looks like, which is bad enough... Or it's something worse."

* * *

"Han?"

"Spencer? What are you doing here?! I know you prefer to study rather than go to Hogsmeade, so this HAS to be good. Is Toby here?" Hanna said with a mischievous grin, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No! Umm... That's actually what I'm here to talk to you about. Can we go somewhere... Private?"

"Of course."

Once the pair had arrived in a secluded area in the small village, avoiding the residents, Hanna plopped down and patted the spot next to her with open arms, inviting Spencer to join her.

"So, what's going on?"

"I know that this is probably a really bad time, considering all that's going on... But I had to ask."

"Go for it!"

Taking a deep breath, Spencer mentally prepared herself for both answers. Either Hanna would break down and admit to losing weight in an unhealthy fashion, or she was going to have it out with Toby again. No matter how many times she tried to shake it, she had the feeling that Toby had been right. "Howdidyouloseweight?" It came out all wrong, jumbled and probably hard to understand, but that was the one and only time Spencer was willing to ask.

"What?" Her face was as white as a ghost.

"I know it's stupid, it's just... Toby made some comment about you not losing weight in the most... Healthy fashion... And you DID lose it awfully fast... I don't know, am I just a freak who believes everything her boyfriend says? Am I just-"

"No! No, you're not. You're... You're right." Looking up, Spencer saw that Hanna was tearing up and doing absolutely anything and everything to hide the fact.

"What?!" As prepared as she tried to be, Spencer had secretly been hoping that Toby was wrong.

"My guess is that Caleb told Toby and told him not to tell anyone."

"Told Toby what, exactly?"

"Alison walked in on me after I had taken a bunch of food from the kitchens... She helped me throw up." Just the mention of Hanna doing that made Spencer herself feel like heaving. If she had known that Alison's bullying was THAT bad, she would've tried to put a stop to it.

"Han... You know that there are other ways..."

"I know. I was just at such a low point in my life... But it doesn't matter. It helped me to start taking better care of myself."

"As long as you're happy now- well, as happy as you can be. I can't change the past."

"As twisted as it sounds... I wouldn't change it if I had the chance. It helped me see what a bitch Ali really could be." Patting Spencer's knee affectionately, Hanna smiled. "You have nothing to worry about. Now, go apologize to Toby, because I know you probably chewed him out for even bringing up the possibility." Shaking her head, Spencer stood up to leave.

"You know me too well."

* * *

"And Caleb STILL hasn't owled her back?" Aria inquired.

"Feathering silence."

Aria and Emily were having a picnic (or, rather, intaking HoneyDukes sweets at a rate that probably wasn't healthy) just outside Hogsmeade, discussing everything that had been going on.

"What do you think he did? Or didn't do, for that matter?" Aria asked, her mind obviously somewhere else.

"I try not to think about it, otherwise I'll go crazy. What are YOU thinking about?" Emily interrogated, a teasing smile on her face.

"It's nothing..." She replied, but she couldn't help the excited grin that spread across her face.

"Aria!" Emily exclaimed, elbowing her playfully. "What aren't you telling me?"

"When you need to know, I'll tell you," Aria said with a wink, and left to go back to the castle before she spilled the beans- or boulders, in her case.

"You know, keeping secrets is probably what put Alison six feet under," Emily whispered after she was gone, wondering if any of her friends were next.

* * *

"Toby? Are you here?"

"Spencer? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you and I'm just stressed from... I don't know, everything... and Caleb left a few nights ago-"

"Rewind for a minute there. He LEFT?"

"Yeah, something about 'screwing up big time' and I wanted to tell you but I thought you were mad and so I didn't risk it and I love you more than anything and I'm just trying to protect you and-" Spencer cut him off mid-rant by grabbing him and crushing him into her so tightly he found it hard to breathe.

"Stop right there. You're the only person I've ever known who has gone to such great lengths for me and I will never be able to repay you for that. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. I love you." Pulling her closer to him- something he didn't realize was possible- he found comfort like no other from being able to feel her heart beating in time with his.

"I know, sweetheart. I know. I'm so sorry. I love you."

"I love you, too."


	5. In the Midst of the Mess

**NOT AN UPDATE. JUST AN EDIT. SORRY GUYS.**

**A/N: Hey, guys! Long time no read! That Elusive Reader moved across the state and family life sucks right now. WOO! DIVORCE! Anyway, I'm hoping you guys like it :) This is more of a filler chapter (even though I HATE that term). Next chapter will be EPIC. Don't hold us to it, though, we have a way of procrastinating and disappointing people.**

**Also, MamaSpobette/Breedom2Be quitting and deleting FanFiction was quite traumatic for me. I looked up to her and aspired to be like her and write like her. I didn't know her personally, but I know enough to be angry at everyone who hated on her enough to delete her works of art. She created masterpieces with words, most of which are gone forever. Shame on everyone who pushed her past her breaking point. Shame. Her stories were 100% original and pure and they were absolutely beautiful. **

**If Phoenix9648 quits, I'm done. She's my favorite author on this website. Her and MamaSpobette (Bree) are two of the most talented writers on this site. The way they have with words is indescribable. Again, shame. I really hope you guys are happy.**

**Thank you for listening to my rant! Here's chapter five! **

Chapter Five:  
In the Midst of the Mess

"Hermione, eat the food," a warm voice echoed in her head. It had been two weeks since Alison DiLaurentis' death, and still she had gotten nowhere.

"I don't even get why you care," muttered Ron darkly, suddenly fascinated in his food constantly ever since the weekend of that party, a week before Halloween. A week before Ali's death.

"I don't care!" she cried, her dark eyes and frazzled hair giving away her neck breaking lie. "I've just become-"

"Mind numbingly obsessed with Alison's death?" asked a silky voice next to her. She shivered, remembering the party before knowing somewhere deep inside her, that it wasn't Fred at all.

"I'm not, George!" Hermione hit back vocally, her face flushing. She duly noted his surprised face and the fact that Fred was sitting on the side of Harry, as far away from his younger brother as possible. "I'm merely looking into it for a friend," she chose her words carefully. "She was particularly interested in Alison's death."

"Was or is?" asked Fred quickly, not quite looking her in the eye.

"Because I think something, do you think something?" asked George, barely managing not to glare at Hermione.

"I sure do, George."

"I think our Hermione has been hired..." he broke off, looked around 'subtly', meaning made a huge show of it, before leaning in, making sure that everyone present heard him, "...was hired by the murderer!" he exclaimed. His eyes lit up as if he had discovered a master evil plan of some villian.

"Don't be stupid George. I wouldn't do something like..." Hermione trailed off as she turned back to her toast. When she looked up, four almost identical expressions were placed on four faces, two of which happened to be identical already.

"Hermione, you haven't exactly been on top of classes lately..." began Harry staring at her, his forkful of hashbrowns having fallen off his fork, halfway to his mouth.

"And you haven't even started that essay Professor Slughorn gave us yesterday that is due in two weeks. Or the one he assigned us two weeks ago, due tomorrow!" added Ron, his fork having not even managed to get off of his plate.

"Are you studying to become the Minister of Magic or a murderer?" asked George, as if it were an actual question.

"Hermione..." said Fred, his eyes looking directly into hers for the first time in weeks. "You would tell me, wouldn't you?"

"I'm her best friend, she'd tell me!" cried Ron, trying to glare at his brother, though having some difficulties as he hadn't managed to get past Harry, who was still gawking at Hermione as if she had grown two sets of horns out of her eyes.

Hermione wiped her eyes, as if wiping away non-existent tears. "Look, guys, I'm not being employed by the super-evil mastermind who killed Alison DiLaurentis, okay? I'm merely looking into it for a friend."

"Must be a pretty good friend. Are you off snogging him too?" asked Fred, some accusation in his voice.

Hermione clutched her fork in her fist, George leaned on top of it, to keep it from killing his twin. "I'm not off snogging anyone, Fred," she glared, her voice unsteady. Fred just raised an eyebrow and plucked a piece of bacon off her plate. "Half my time I'm sitting in the library, the other half, I'm in classes!"

"So you don't sleep do you? Or does Price let you sleep in the library with all your favorite books?"

Her hair nearly burst into flames. She jerked her hand out under George's arm and grabbed her bag, which was nearly full to bursting with books, and stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving Ron, Harry, and George glaring at Fred, who had suddenly become very interested in his stolen piece of bacon.

"What?" he demanded. "She started it!"

"No, she didn't," Harry put in. "And since you seem to be so interested in her love life-" ("I'm not! I'm just merely looking out for a friend") "-you'll be pleased to know she isn't seeing anyone. Not me, not Ron, not Dean, not anyone."

"Not even that stupid Keeper you put on the team in place of Wood? Cormac McLaggen something was it? When he got kicked off last match because he ran into Hooch?"

"She hates him," George put in. "Why would she be interested in that stupid person?"

"Because, girls don't think like us very, manageable men," answered Fred, grinning-happier than George had seen him since the party.

* * *

Hermione stormed out of the Great Hall, fuming, and wishing for once she had sat with Ginny and Luna. Even Parvati and Lavender would be better company than those...those..boys!

She slammed her books down beside her, as she slumped down the wall in some corridor.

"I hate boys," she muttered to herself, fuming. "Why do I hang out with them?"

Then the silky voice spoke up, but sadly it wasn't a Weasely, but another boy, who said, "You know, Mudblood, I've always wondered that myself."

"Go away Malfoy, I don't want your insults right now," she replied, not even bothering to look up, though she did wish that she had put her wand in her pocket, not her bag.

"Oh, yes, your begging really makes me want to go away and leave your bushy head sobbing alone."

"Go rub whatever you're gloating about into someone else's unfortunate face. Why don't you go blubber to Pansy? I'm sure the make-up will be better than anything I can give you."

"Are you offering to console me Granger?" There was a hint of surprise in the snooty boy's voice.

"No," was her only reply, as she dragged her bag towards her to pull out one of her text books. She clearly meant for this to rub off as rude, and he'd leave, but Draco Malfoy is the King of rude.

"Really? Because that's sure what it sounded like."

"It's not what I meant, and you know it," she shot back. "And if you don't leave I'm going to start reading aloud my History of Magic book."

"That's your Arithmancy book," Malfoy pointed out, smirking to himself.

"So what? Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in the medieval times, but not very good at recognising it," Hermione began. Malfoy's smirk was wiped off his face almost as quickly as was humanly possible. "On the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever."

"Okay, Granger…" Malfoy said shakily, backing away from her. "You can stop now...I'm leaving."

She didn't, and continued, " The witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation." Malfoy's face morphed into something that Hermione couldn't quite decipher as she went on to the next sentence, "Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than forty-seven times in various disguises."

By this time Malfoy's mouth was dropped open and looked so comical that Hermione had to bite back a laugh.

"Do I need to continue?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head, and walked slowly away, his mind racing.

He was probably just thinking about performing the charm later and maybe stepping into the fire or something, to see what it felt like.

The weirdo.

Hermione sighed and got up from her comfortable spot on the floor, knowing that she had to get to class soon or McGonagall would probably kill her.

She trudged up the Grand Staircase, not looking where she was going, only to find herself run into a person.

"Sorry," she muttered, not even looking back at the unknown person.

"Hey, Hermione," the person said, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him. "I've been looking for you."

"Hi Fred," she said, glancing around for George. Where Fred was George couldn't be far behind.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me sometime? Maybe this Saturday?"

"It isn't a Hogsmeade weekend," she pointed out dumbly, thinking about other things.

"I'm a Weasley aren't I, Hermione?" Fred laughed, his eyes lighting up as he looked at her.

"Oh yea, sorry, I've been distracted," she muttered, turning away.

"I haven't gotten my answer, Hermione. It's rude to just walk away from boys when they ask you out on a date."

She paused, before answering. "Yes."

And then continued up the stairs to Transfiguration, leaving the redhead grinning on the steps.

* * *

"Hey, Han, wait up!"

The girls were going to Hogsmeade, and couldn't be more excited. Their Honeydukes reserves were about to be completely depleted and needed to be restocked. The common rooms were in desperate need of more Butterbeer. Fred and George needed supplies from Zappo's- however, Harry promised to keep a close eye on them and make sure they didn't buy, or DO, anything illegal. And, quite frankly, everyone had cabin fever being cooped up in the castle.

"You wait up! I'm not stopping! This is my first taste of freedom!" Hanna replied, twirling around, looking much like a small child in a flower field.

"Hanna, I'm willing to bet that you have the most freedom out of all of us! Your mom doesn't really care what you're doing as long as you're out of trouble! My mother writes if I get anything less than a 90 percent on an assignment! And not just a letter- a HOWLER. Aria's parents could power all of Hogwarts with all the energy they use on the floo network checking on her and Mike. Emily's mother STILL doesn't know that she broke up with Oliver. You ARE free!" Spencer retorted, arms folded and eyes narrowed.

"Can you just let me be dramatic, for ONCE?"

"Be dramatic somewhere else! Life is REALISTIC."

"Can we not? Not today, guys!" Emily smiled, obviously happy to be free of classes and the stresses related to school.

"I agree! No fighting today. NONE. Besides, I want to go and check out that-" the sound of somebody screaming interrupted Aria's galleon-blowing plans.

"What was that?" Spencer asked, her voice urgent.

"I think we all know what it was, but the more important question is who?!" Aria exclaimed, obviously distraught.

"We need to find Toby and Caleb. Now."

* * *

After Spencer and Hanna had found their significant others-both unharmed- the group rushed off to figure out what had happened while they were indulging in their freedom-filled fantasies. When they arrived at the scene, everything was a blur. All they could see was a mass of people surrounding what appeared to be a pool of blood, but everyone knew that there was a body in the midst of the mess.

"Who is it?" Toby asked, figuring the girls already knew.

"We don't know," Spencer answered softly, leaning further into him.

"Well, I'm going to find out," Caleb said determinedly, trying to get out of Hanna's grasp.

"Caleb! NO! You are NOT going over there! For all I know, one of these people could've been the one to DO this!"

"Hanna, I'm done with people trying to hurt you and your friends and everyone else within a ten-mile radius!"

"Well, you better be ready to be done living too, because if you survive that mob you sure as hell won't survive me when you get back!"

"ALRIGHT! I hear you. Just let me blow off some steam for a minute," Caleb sighed, running a hand through his hair while giving Toby a look he knew that the girls wouldn't see.

"I'm going to go too," Toby said, squeezing Spencer tighter for a second before taking off after Caleb.

"Stay safe!" Hanna and Spencer yelled after them in unison before taking a deep breath and turning back to the harsh reality they were faced with.

* * *

"What the hell? I don't know what you're thinking, but leaving the girls alone and unprotected was NOT on my agenda for the evening!" Toby yelled, punching Caleb in the gut.

"I agree. But I wouldn't say I deserved that," he smirked, gesturing to his stomach. "I wanted to talk to you about this…. Whatever THIS is…. We need to do something else to protect them!"

"Like what, Caleb? Glue them to us so they can't leave? No matter WHAT we do, they'll find a way to each other. Those girls are stronger than any spell."

"I can't believe I'm about to say this… But what if we pitted them against each other?"

"Are you out of your friggin' mind? What good would that do?"

"They wouldn't be in as much danger if they weren't friends. They might stop being threatened. They might feel SAFE again."

"There's also this little thing called strength in numbers. Besides, those girls are inseparable. Even if I decided to go along with this crazy plan, it wouldn't work. It's impossible."

"There's something that'll tear them apart. There HAS to be. Just wait. This'll work itself out."

"You do what you want, but I'm having no part in it. This is a disaster waiting to happen."

"You watch this play out, and watch the girls stay safe."

"I'm holding you to it."

* * *

As the girls edged closer to the front, Emily could practically hear her heart cracking in half. Though the girls didn't know why, Emily sank to her knees and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Lying there, in the midst of the mess, was a very broken, very beat up, very dead-looking Maya St. Germain.


End file.
